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Spss StatisticsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-38959

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows 24.0, 25.0, 26.0, 27.0, 27.0.1, and 28.0 could allow a local user to cause a denial of service by writing arbitrary files to admin protected directories on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 212046.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows versions 24.0 through 28.0 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing an authenticated local user to write arbitrary files to administrator-protected system directories, potentially causing denial of service by corrupting or overwriting critical system files.

MitigationApply IBM's official patch for this vulnerability (contact IBM support for fix availability). In the interim, restrict local user permissions to the SPSS installation directory and monitor for unauthorized file writes to protected system locations.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Spss StatisticsApplication
Affected:= 24.0.0.0= 25.0.0.0= 26.0.0.0= 27.0.0.0= 27.0.1.0= 28.0.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm IBM SPSS Statistics is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*SPSS*'}
    Affected if IBM SPSS Statistics appears in the installed programs list
  2. Identify the installed SPSS Statistics version
    Check the version in Programs and Features, or right-click the main SPSS executable (typically stats.exe in the installation directory) and view Properties > Details to see the File Version
    Affected if The installed version is 24.0.0.0, 25.0.0.0, 26.0.0.0, 27.0.0.0, 27.1.0.0, or 28.0.0.0
  3. Verify local user access to the system
    Determine if standard (non-administrator) local user accounts exist on the system and have access to log into Windows locally. Check via Computer Management > Local Users and Groups or run: net user
    Affected if Standard local users with authenticated access to the machine exist and can execute SPSS
  4. Check for unauthorized file modifications in system directories
    Use Windows Event Viewer to search Security logs for Event ID 4656 (file open request) or 4663 (file system audit) targeting system directories (C:\Windows\System32, C:\Program Files) from SPSS-related processes. Also manually inspect critical system files in these directories for unexpected changes.
    Affected if Audit logs or file inspection reveal unexpected file creations or modifications in administrator-protected system directories that coincide with SPSS execution timestamps

A user is affected if IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 through 28.0 is installed AND non-administrator local users have authenticated access to the system, allowing potential privilege escalation through arbitrary file writes to protected directories.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM's official patch for this vulnerability (contact IBM support for fix availability). In the interim, restrict local user permissions to the SPSS installation directory and monitor for unauthorized file writes to protected system locations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0.1 or later (contact IBM for exact fix pack if available)

  1. 1. Verify the current IBM SPSS Statistics version by launching the application and navigating to Help > About SPSS Statistics
  2. 2. Download IBM SPSS Statistics version 28.0.1 or later from the official IBM website or your entitled IBM account
  3. 3. Close all instances of IBM SPSS Statistics
  4. 4. Run the installer with appropriate permissions
  5. 5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About to confirm the upgrade was successful
  7. 7. Test critical workflows to ensure functionality is maintained
Caveat Upgrade may require reactivation of license; review IBM's migration guide for compatibility with custom scripts and extensions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Spss Statistics Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-38959 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data